We Westerners love the idea of going across the world. There’s no mistaking that Jesus told us to do this. The scope of the Great Commission couldn’t be clearer: Jesus charged his disciples to “go and make disciples of all nations.” But the world has changed. Thanks to decades of globalization, Global is right here, right now. We take missions trips and collect experiences in exotic places. Many Christians have “a heart for the nations,” buy fair trade, wear TOMS shoes, sponsor a child, and pray for unreached people groups … but can’t tell you the names of their neighbors. We have accidentally depersonalized missions by imagining villages halfway across the world instead of our next door neighbors. I’m not saying we need to stop praying for, serving, and going to the nations to tell people the life-transforming story of Jesus, but ministry wanderlust can lead us to miss people right in front of our noses.
Missional Field Notes 